Good afternoon Mr. Price and Mr. Ryan,

In response to the proposed Classifications and Alignments for Cross Country for the 2025-2026 seasons, I offer the following comments.

I have been involved with Cross Country in West Virginia for close to 30 years. In that time, we have made great strides in the promotion and advancement of our sport. The proposal put forth would be the first time that we would take a step backwards. I will add that during the Coaches Committee Zoom Meeting held in May, every coach in the meeting said that this was not a good move.

The proposed alignment would lessen the competition in the premier division. The athletes and coaches in the State have done a great job increasing the quality of our performances. We now have nationally recognized athletes. Part of that comes from increased competition in our top division. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the current proposal discourages small schools from starting and/or building their programs. It s hard enough for a school with 150 students to compete with schools that have 350, much less extend that all the way past 600. It s difficult to get athletes to join a sport like cross country if they feel like they have no chance, and this proposal makes it that much more difficult for those small schools. It s my understanding that part of the reason that Basketball shifted to 4 Divisions was that it gave small schools a chance to shine. Why should Cross Country be any different. It has always been the case that the smallest schools have fewer participants, but those schools should still be able to compete for a State Championship.

As with Track & Field, the cutoffs for which schools go into which division are too close. More natural breaks should be used rather than just saying that 20 schools will be in Class AAAA, etc. There are cutoffs that make significantly more sense than those currently proposed. There are serious participation and balance of power issues as well that have to be addressed even if any recommendations for reclassification into 3 classes do not come to fruition. The best path to that may be moving away from having four Regions to having 3 or even 2.

Class AAAA

There is a Region with 6 teams and a Region with 4. If you look at participation numbers within the Regions, it s even worse. Teams in Region 3 (the Region with just 4 teams), had just 21 girls and 21 boys that ran at least year s Regional. Region 2 had 42. There are 95 Returning Girls that were Ranked Runners at the end of last season. 36 of those were in Region 1, and 32 were in Region 4. Region 2 and 3 combined had 27. Of the top 20 Ranked Returning girls, 8 are in Region 1, and 7 are in Region 4. Region 2 and 3 combined have 5. Of the top 50 Ranked Returning Girls, 20 are in Region 1, and 21 are in Region 4. Region 2 and 3 combined have 9. On the boys side, Class AAAA has 90 Returning Ranked Runners. Region 1 had 31 of them, and Region 4 has 31 of them. Regions 2 and 3 combined have 28. Of the top 20 Ranked Returners, Region 1 has 10 of them, and Region 4 has 7. Regions 2 and 3 combined have 3. Of the top 50 Ranked Returners, Region 1 has 19 of them, and Region 4 has 17. Regions 2 and 3 combined have 14. The balance of power has to be addressed as Cross Country does not have a mitigating factor for State Meet Advancement like Track does (the At-Large Qualifiers). In a 4 Region alignment, you can move Hurricane to Region 3. You could also move Preston or Buckhannon-Upshur to Region 2. Changing the cutoff to 950, 900, or 850 makes more sense as there are natural breaks at those levels.

In Class AAA, the discrepancies are not as bad. There were at least 4 complete teams in each proposed Regional, and each Region had between 33 and 41 competitors. The returning ranked runners for Regions 1-4 in Girls were 17, 21, 13, and 13. The distribution of the Top 20 Returning Ranked Girls was 4, 6, 7, and 3. The distribution of the top 50 Ranked Girls was 11, 14, 16, and 9. Ranked Returning Boys had a distribution of 20, 24, 18, and 11. The Top 20 Returning Ranked Boys had a distribution of 5, 9, 4, and 2. The top 50 Returning Ranked Boys had a distribution of 14, 18, 10, and 8. In both boys and girls, there is a balance of power discrepancy, but it s not as bad as the imbalance in Class AAAA. Again, the cutoff should be examined and placed in a spot where there is a natural break in student levels.

In the proposed Class A/AA Division is where the worst imbalances occur. At first glance, one might think that it s ok. There are between 17 and 20 schools listed for each Region. Ignoring the large discrepancy in the number of teams in this division versus the other divisions, you might think that it s ok. However, there are schools included in the listing that have not had a Cross Country team in years, if ever. Region 1 actually has 15 schools that had at least 1 runner last season. Region has 10. Region 3 has 21, and Region 4 has 12. Even that may not look bad, but Region 1 had 138 athletes compete at a Regional last year. Region 2 had 86. Region 3 had 60, and Region 4 had 90. Region 3 had no complete girls teams and just 17 runners that competed at a Regional last year. This is a participation imbalance that has to be addressed. Further, of the 57 Returning Ranked Girls, 25 of them are in Region 1, and 20 are in Region 2. 11 are in Region 4. Region 3 has 1. Of the Top 20 Returning Ranked Girls, 10 are in Region 1, 7 are in Region 2, and 3 are in Region 3. Of the Top 50 Returning Ranked Girls, 22 are in Region 1, 18 are in Region 2, 9 are in Region 3, and 1 is in Region 3. The boys side is similarly imbalanced. Of the 81 Returning Ranked Boys, 36 are in Region 1, 21 are in Region 4, 18 are in Region 2, and 6 are in Region 3. Of the Top 20 Returning Ranked Boys, 10 are in Region 1, 5 are in Region 2, 4 are in Region 4, and 1 is in Region 3. Of the Top 50 Returning Ranked Boys, 23 are in Region 1, 15 are in Region 4, 10 are in Region 2, and 2 are in Region 3. These are imbalances that must be addressed.

I believe that it is best to leave Cross Country at 3 Divisions, but NOT with 1A and 2A combined. Each sport should be evaluated and classified on its own. Not only do I think that Cross Country should be 3 Divisions, but I think changing to a 2 Super-Region Alignment would help with the balance issues in addition to making the Regional Meets more compelling and effective at getting the best teams and individuals to the State Meet. Currently, the Regional Meets are often the smallest meets that teams attend all season.

Class AAA - Cutoff at 850. There is a natural break with 874 above and 848 below. That leaves

27 schools in Class AAA.

Suggested Alignment

Class AAA

R1 Buckhannon-Upshur, Hedgesville, Jefferson, John Marshall, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Musselman, Preston, Spring Mills, University, Washington, Wheeling Park (12)

R2 Cabell Midland, Capital, George Washington, Greenbrier East, Huntington, Hurricane, Oak Hill, Parkersburg, Parkersburg South, Princeton, Riverside, South Charleston, Spring Valley, St. Albans, Woodrow Wilson (15)

The Top 6 Teams in each Region would advance to the State Meet plus the Top 10 Exclusive Individuals.

This would leave 114 ranked Girls in the AAA Division. 57 would be in Region 1 and 57 in Region 2. Of the top 20 Returners, there would be 10 in Region 1 and 10 in Region 2. Of the top 50 Returners, there would be 24 in Region 1 and 26 in Region 2. Each Region would have 12 schools that ran complete teams at last year s Regional.

This would leave 101 ranked Boys in the AAA Division. 55 would be in Region 1 and 46 in Region 2. Of the top 20 Returners, there would be 12 in Region 1 and 8 in Region 2. Of the top 50 Returners, there would be 27 in Region 1 and 23 in Region 2. Each Region would have 12 schools that ran complete teams at least year s Regional.

Class AA Cutoff at 425. There is a natural break with 446 above and 410 below. That puts

42 schools in Class AA.

Suggested Alignment

Class AA

R1 Berkeley Springs, Brooke, Bridgeport, East Fairmont, Fairmont Senior, Frankfort, Grafton, Hampshire, Keyser, Lewis, Lincoln, Moorefield, North Marion, Oak Glen, Philip Barbour, Point Pleasant, Ripley, Roane, Robert C. Byrd, Weir (20)

R2 Bluefield, Braxton, Chapmanville, Clay, Elkins, Herbert Hoover, Independence, James Monroe, Liberty Raleigh, Lincoln County, Logan, Mingo Central, Nicholas, Nitro, PikeView, Scott, Shady Spring, Sissonville, Wayne, Westside, Winfield, Wyoming East (22)

This would leave 78 ranked Girls in the AA Division. 40 would be in Region 1 and 38 would be in Region 2. Of the top 20 Returners, 11 would be in Region 1, and 9 would be in Region 2. Of the top 50 Returners, 28 would be in Region 1, and 22 would be in Region 2. Region 1 has 9 schools that ran as complete teams at the Regional last year, and Region 2 has 7 schools that ran as complete teams last year.

This would leave 84 ranked Boys in the AA Division. 46 would be in Region 1 and 38 would be in Region 2. Of the top 20 Returners, 13 would be in Region 1 and 7 would be in Region 2. Of the top 50 Returners, 26 would be in Region 1 and 24 would be in Region 2. Region 1 has 14 schools that ran as complete teams last year, and Region 2 has 12 schools that ran as complete teams last year.

Class A would be under 425. That puts 52 schools in Class A

Suggested Alignment

Class A

R1 Cameron, Clay-Battelle, Doddridge, East Hardy, Gilmer, Harman, Madonna, Magnolia, Notre Dame, Paw Paw, Pendleton, Petersburg, Pickens, Pocahontas, Ritchie, South Harrison, St. Marys, Trinity Christian, Tucker, Tygarts Valley, Tyler Consolidated, Union, Valley Wetzel, Webster, Wheeling Central, WV School for Deaf & Blind (26)

R2 Buffalo, Calhoun, Charleston Catholic, Greater Beckley Christian, Greenbrier West, Hannan, Man, Meadow Bridge, Midland Trail, Montcalm, Mount View, Parkesburg Catholic, Poca, Ravenswood, Richwood, River View, Sherman, St. Joseph, Summers, Tolsia, Tug Valley, Van, Wahama, Williamstown, Wirt, Wood County Christian (26)

This would leave 34 Ranked Girls in the A Divison. 17 would be in Region 1, and 17 would be in Region 2. Of the top 20 Returners 8 would be in Region 1, and 12 would be in Region 2. Region 1 has 5 schools that ran as complete teams last year. Region 2 has 4 schools that ran as complete teams last year.

This would leave 59 Ranked Boys in the A Division, 33 would be in Region 1, and 26 would be in Region 2. Of the top 20 Returners, 13 would be in Region 1, and 7 would be in Region 2. Of the top 50 Returners, 26 would be in Region 1, and 24 would be in Region 2. Region 1 has 9 schools that ran as complete teams last year. Region 2 has 8 schools that ran as complete teams last year.